If every student got to experience what I did through the phonathon, they could learn so much about our school. It fits in right between taking a class and doing an internship: because you’re talking to alumni, they’re providing you with something personal about this school, and because they’ve found a lot of success in their careers, they give you tons of advice. Here’s what I learned:

I made the right choice in coming here. Hearing about the alumni’s success and stories from being a student hit really close to home for me. Someday I will find the same success—and I’ll get to have the same amount of fun along the way.

You can never know enough about what classes to take and what professors to take them with. The alumni offered me so much advice about their majors, down to recommending classes and teachers. So I’d sit their writing down a bunch of things—pretty much everything they said. (Side note: I got three internship offers!)

The hard work pays off. A lot of them said that they have people who apply for jobs who don’t know how to work the Adobe programs, and their portfolios are just, uggh. I spoke with one alumna who does a lot of hiring at Limited Brands, and she said she can always tell when someone is a CCAD student because there is a certain work ethic and talent level that is so identifiable.

Giving back means paying it forward. A lot of our alumni received scholarships while they were here, so that’s why they give back. They even said that they couldn’t have done what they had without the scholarship they received. I’m the same way, so that’s why I’ll give back once I graduate.

We’re a part of one great big, growing family. Some people go to college strictly to get an education, but here it feels a lot more personal, like you and CCAD chose each other. I don’t know one student here who isn’t passionate about what they do, and when I talked to the alumni they were exactly the same way. It’s pretty cool to know that there are thousands of people in the world who have the same experience I do.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The student callers’ efforts paid off in a big way: in 2010, giving from alumni who graduated within the last 10 years increased by more than 1,000 percent.

Collier's workplace was named to Entrepreneur’s 2010 Great Place to Work Rankings

Digital marketing agency Bridge Worldwide was ranked sixth among medium workplaces on Entrepreneur’s 2010 Great Place to Work Rankings. Several alumni work for Bridge Worldwide, including associate copywriter Alexander Collier (CCAD 2010).

“These [newsletters] are great experiences—writing for a primarily female audience, you really have to learn what they’re like, what they do, and what’s important to them,” said Collier. “This is vital in triggering an emotional response.”

“I owe a great deal to my mentor, CCAD instructor George Felton,” Collier said. “He taught me everything I know about Advertising. My Ad/Graph instructor, Doug Fisher instilled what it means to be a professional in every walk of life. I’ll never forget these guys who looked out for me. They’re one in million.”

Collier has also contributed on projects for Fixodent, Pringles, Charmin, and Puffs Tissues. To view his artwork, visit his personal webpage. Check out the work Collier created while a student at CCAD.

Bridge Worldwide is a leading digital and relationship marketing agency based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a New York City office. Bridge Worldwide is a member of the WPP network, the second-largest agency holding company in the world. The agency’s client list includes several FORTUNE 500 companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Abbott Nutrition, ConAgra Foods, and Kroger.